Tag: identity

Presenter: Rod McNair
Teaser: What do Santa, Yule logs, mistletoe, gift-giving and caroling have to do with the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Many people understand that Christmas has become very commercialized. Some are aware of the non-Christian history associated with Christmas. Is Christmas something Christians should celebrate?
..”

Songs

The “Jingle Bells” composer was the son of a fiercely abolitionist Unitarian minister, Reverend John Pierpont. From an early age, James Lord Pierpont sought adventures far away from his family in Boston. At the age of 14, he ran off from boarding school, joined the crew of a whaling ship and spent nearly a decade at sea. When the California Gold Rush struck in 1849, Pierpont left his wife and children behind in Massachusetts while he chased riches in the West. Returning home several years later no wealthier than when he left, Pierpont departed from his family again in 1853 to become the organist at a Unitarian church in Savannah, Georgia, that was pastored by his brother. Several months after the death of his first wife in 1856, the songwriter married a daughter of Savannah’s mayor and left the two children from his first marriage back in the North with their grandfather. ..”

Wreath

The Meaning of the Advent Wreath – YouTube

Candy Cane

The Legend of the Candy Cane – The Candymaker’s Gift

The Christmas candycane story. – YouTube

Different Cultures Celebrating

Spanish

The Man Behind ‘Feliz Navidad’ By Caitlin Johnson CBS December 17, 2006, 11:18 AM“.. “Feliz Navidad” gets more radio play than any other Christmas song in the country — and it’s #1 on Latino song lists, too, which still astounds Feliciano…

Feliciano was born in Puerto Rico in 1945, blind at birth from congenital glaucoma, but very much aware of the rhythms around him from the beginning….

..What makes his accomplishment more impressive is that Feliciano was a poor, blind kid — one of eleven boys — who moved to New York when he was five, but made his way to the top…”

The Puerto Rican musician wrote the lyrics of his Christmas classic in English to ensure American radio stations would play it.“..The song is big, bright, punchy, and warm; it could melt away all the snow in “White Christmas.” Just 20 words in English and Spanish make up its lyrics—forget the mental and verbal athleticism required to pull off “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” And when Feliciano sings it, he sounds nothing short of effusive in his desire to spread holiday joy: “From the bottom of my heeaaartt!!!” And you can feel that all that joy and earnestness, even if you don’t know quite know what “Prospero año y felicidad” means…”

Misc…

What is the real meanings of christmas symbols – YouTube

23 Common Christmas Symbols and Their True Meanings – YouTube

Nativity Scene: Jesus’ Birth (date)??

Actual Date of Brith-25th of December?

1st Theory- September?

December 25th – Is it the Real Birthday of Jesus the Messiah?https://youtu.be/FZqoXLpPh6A“MultiArchangel
Published on Dec 13, 2010
Many people have been told that December 25th is the birthday of Jesus Christ, but what does the Bible have to say on the matter? Is it truly the day Jesus was born? The short answer would be “no”. “

The Day of Atonement, Tishri 10, was a special Sabbath, and the holiest day in the Old Covenant Jewish calendar year. The only day of the year our Heavenly Father came down to be with man, in the Holy of Holies within the Temple at Jerusalem. On this day our Heavenly Father would annually forgive the sins of Israel, make Israel holy for one more year, as they awaited the promised Messiah, Jesus, to come and save them. The significance of this holy day alone, foreshadows that this day would be the Day when Jesus would be born, would come to take away our sins, and make believers spiritually holy forever. The Birth of Jesus

*The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord.” You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. Lev 23:26-28 NASB+

*and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. Lev 16:2 ESV+..”

Jesus’ Birth – The Feast of Trumpets When Was Jesus Born? truthinscripture.net“..The date of September 11, 3 BC was Tishri 1 on the Jewish calendar in 3 BC. Tishri 1 is, of course, the 1st day of the first Jewish month. This date is also called Yom Teruah: The Day of Trumpets; the Feast of Trumpets; and Rosh Hashanah: Head of the Year, or Feast of the New Year.

From the proper astronomical interpretation of Revelation 12:1-6 (see previous Post: Jesus’ Birth – Astrological/Zodiacal References in Scripture), the only day in 3 BC which meets the astronomical confluences discussed is September 11, 3 BC, during the period of sunset to moonset, 6:18 pm to 7:39 pm. The close proximity of the positions of the sun and the moon as described in Revelation indicate a new moon time frame, which is exactly the situation which exists on the first day of a Jewish lunar month, as on Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets. Jesus must have been born on the Feast of Trumpets, as no other day of the year in 3 BC could astronomically meet the specific requirements detailed in Revelation…”

“..Jonathan Cahn on the Jim Bakker Show Nov.12th, 2012. Cahn uses detective work to figure out that Jesus was born on the first day of the Jewish New Year, known as Nissan 1, in 6 B.C. Compelling correlation of Jewish Feast Days and their foreshadowing of the life and work of Jesus…”

Can you fill the blank? What does your name mean to you? Have you ever been called “some other name” that you believed?…from a “bully”? teased/make fun of?

I remember being teased back in middle school/junior high and was called many names that I started to believe. For example, my physical features (e.g. “big eyes”, “Yoda”, “big nose”, “shorty”, “terrorist”, “you look like the enemy” (Persian Gulf War at the time), racist remarks , sexuality, etc..) weren’t the same with the people around me-who does anyways? -God has made us all uniquely-beautiful-and different! Can you relate? Feel free to boldly share your story down below or email me too.

Anyways, I started to believe in many of these “lies”..

“…Hello, my name is regret
I’m pretty sure we have met
Every single day of your life
I’m the whisper inside
That won’t let you forget

Hello, my name is defeat
I know you recognize me
Just when you think you can win
I’ll drag you right back down again
‘Til you’ve lost all belief

My self-esteem just went lower and lower as I grew older. I would at times have “suicidal” thoughts and suffered depression. I went through a season where I even wished I was “white” like most of my peers. With all this, my hatred and anger grew, which I would keep to myself and was anti-social.

I slowly grew out of the lies starting my college years when I had a “spiritual awakening” (see personal testimony). My low self-esteem didn’t disappear overnight, but it slowly faded away as I grew in my faith and my found identity as a “child of Him (Heavenly Father)…

One last thought is we need to be careful what you put above God (e.g idols). I used to struggle with this (e.g. sports, music, celebrities, etc..), which I can share the “negative effects” on another blog topic. This will affect one’s identity, which will give you a false belief.

*NOTE: I’m not trying to be the “angel” (righteous) here, but I’ve had my share of being the “devil”. I’ve teased others too or said things that might’ve “offended” them, which some has boldly reminded me. If I have and I don’t know it, please forgive me and let me know (in person if possible or via email, phone, etc..) too! I want to learn from my mistakes.

There sits today in rulership of this fallen world order one who has grown ancient in evil, cunning in subtlety, and cruel in deceit. He waged the first war of the universe in the distant planet called heaven, and subsequently brought conflict to this little world we call earth as it spins on the outer edges of the milky-way galaxy. He filled all heaven with discord and the earth with death, and both with great sorrow. He deceptively challenged every transparent purpose of the Creator, and even coveted the throne of the Eternal, planning to either assume rule of the universe or if not, then to plunge it into chaos and ruin.
This menacing figure who has hijacked our planet well explains the presence of every conflict that disturbs our world today, every pestilence that afflicts humanity, every sorrow and pain and death that tortures the children of earth. Lucifer, the former covering cherub and one-time honorable prime minister of the angelic intelligences in Heaven, has become Satan, the great adversary of our smitten world. This powerful angel heads a vast army of unseen intelligences, the hosts of darkness who oppose in this world, every beneficent purpose of our Creator the Almighty God of the universe. He especially hates the Holy One who in great condescension assumed our human nature that He might by divine power destroy the works of Satan, conquer evil and lift the terrible sentence of eternal death from our fallen race.
To speak of a throne of evil controlling this world system is no mere figure of speech, it is a grim reality. And the occupant of that throne is no figment of anyone’s imagination. Jesus Christ ascribes to him the title of “prince of this world.” John 14: 30. The famed Christian apostle Paul describes him as “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” Eph. 2: 2. Paul also warns us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood , but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness…” Eph 6:12 John the Revelator describes this foe as “the great dragon,” “that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan who deceives the whole world.” Rev. 12:9.
When the leader of revolt against the Eternal Creator was expelled from heaven, expelled along with him were many other angel intelligences who had yielded to his cunning sophistries and had joined in his unworthy rebellion. This world is today their singular abode. This is because that tremendous event, which rid heaven of the fallen hosts, was followed by the tragic fall of our first parents under Satan’s lies. This historic fall let loose legions of fallen angels to bend all of their efforts and genius over many thousands of years in the work of spoiling, corrupting and ruining the once noble human family, originally created to be the crown of God’s handiwork. A key element of the strategy to ruin humanity has been to lead man to blight and degrade the fair earth that was intended to be our perfect and eternal home.
The apostle Peter warns us “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 Finally, the inspired revelator says ” Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.” Rev. 12:12.”

So…what “lies” have you believed? Feel free to share down below your thoughts of any of the content above. Remember, you not alone! Lastly, do you believe them still? Why or why not?

Growing-up in the somewhat culturally diverse east-side of St. Paul in the 80’s, it was just a “norm” to just associate with any person with a diverse ethnic background….until my “middle school years”! “Race” somewhat became a “factor” on who you hung out with and who your friends were in this particular school. I didn’t like it! You can it was my “worst” years! Being “Asian-American” having friends with both “white” and “black” in elementary school, I felt like I had to choose what “race” to be “friends” with (see my personal racism story). Long-story short, why do we have to be “labeled” or “grouped” or “categorized”?…

ACTORS/ACTRESSES

“The former child actress who charmed America in “The Cosby Show” for most of the ‘80s shocked megastar Oprah Winfrey during a recent interview when she declared she considers herself “American,” not “African-American.”
…

“I’m proud to be who I am and what I am,” she said in an interview on the OWN network. “I want to be labeled ‘a human who loves humans.’”

…“I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American. I’m not an African-American; I’m an American,” she said….

“I mean, I don’t know where my roots go to. I don’t know how far back they go…I don’t know what country in Africa I’m from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I’m an American. And that’s a colorless person.”…

…“What I really mean by that is I’m an American. That’s what I really mean,” Raven-Symone said. “I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian. I connect with Asian. I connect with black. I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture.”
….

“A white supremacist behind an initiative to turn a North Dakota town into a “white enclave” received some shocking news — he’s not 100 percent white. Craig Cobb, a 62-year-old man who has aimed to start a community for white supremacists and neo-Nazis, received some news that he wasn’t too happy about.*” Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola of The Young Turks discuss.

POLITICANS

“..In his book “Dreams From My Father,” the future president…”
*shares about growing-up bi-racial and the struggles of it. He feels America is made up of groups in “isolation” and that some individuals long to be part of a group.

I (Sal) personally can relate to all these stories above as I grew-up with an “identity issue” (see racism testimony) myself. I hated labels growing-up. I remember growing-up in elementary school, race was no matter or issue. I had friends of all multicultural backgrounds. Then in Middle School (6th grade), the identity slowly became an issue.

I remember in high school, I joined a “cultural” group called the “Asian Club”, which many friends from diverse Asian ethnic backgrounds invited me. There was one remark that really “stabbed” me in the heart…

“You don’t even look Asian enough…your eyes are big” (paraphrase)

This was just one example of many out there growing-up that got me to struggle with my “true identity”. I was like, how Asian do I have to look (e.g. squinty eyes) to be in this club? My full name is Spanish (Salvador Cruz Monteagudo). I then tried to “hang out” with Filipinos more, but struggled too because I didn’t even speak the “native” language of my parents. In college, I even was more “welcomed” by the “United Latinos”!

It wasn’t until college when I felt a real belonging and race wasn’t an issue. I became a Christian and realize I’m part of God’s big family! However, there is still challenges amongst the “Christian” community on this multicultural issue, but what is mentioned in the Bible keeps me rooted and strong in my personal faith (walk with my “Heavenly Father”!

“..This was a founding work for other scientists in the field of craniometry. He divided the human species into five races in 1779, later founded on crania research (description of human skulls), and called them (1793/1795):

the Caucasian or white race
the Mongolian or yellow race, including all East Asians and some Central Asians.
the Malayan or brown race, including Southeast Asian and Pacific Islanders.
the Ethiopian or black race, including sub-Saharan Africans.
the American or red race, including American Indians.
..”

“…To illustrate the basic genetic principles involved in determining skin shade, we’ll use a simplified explanation,26 with just two genes controlling the production of melanin. Let’s say that the A and B versions of the genes code for a lot of melanin, while the a and b versions code for a small amount of melanin.
Gene chart?

If the father’s sperm carried the AB version and the mother’s ovum carried the AB, the child would be AABB, with a lot of melanin, and thus very dark skin. Should both parents carry the ab version, the child would be aabb, with very little melanin, and thus very light skin. If the father carries AB (very dark skin) and the mother carries ab (very light skin), the child will be AaBb, with a middle brown shade of skin. In fact, the majority of the world’s population has a middle brown skin shade.

A simple exercise with a Punnet Square shows that if each parent has a middle brown shade of skin (AaBb), the combinations that they could produce result in a wide variety of skin shades in just one generation. Based on the skin colors seen today, we can infer that Adam and Eve most likely would have had a middle brown skin color. Their children, and children’s children, could have ranged from very light to very dark.

No one really has red, or yellow, or black skin. We all have the same basic color, just different shades of it. We all share the same pigments—our bodies just have different combinations of them.27…”

Artist and photographer who came to UMM to study from Buffalo, Minn. She has earned national attention for her interactive photo project entitled “Native Enough” which features a variety of portraits of UMM Native American students describing what their heritage means to them. O’Leary has also served as a staff photographer for UMM’s Profile magazine and has her own photo business.

By Ramon Ramirez Jun 11, 2015, 10:34pm CT dailydot.com“…Dolezal is by her family’s account white—Czech, Swedish, and German, with some Native American heritage, according to her mom—which is problematic given that she’s built an identity around being an African-American woman. And amid swirling controversy about Dolezal’s heritage on Thursday, she responded to KXLY4 reporter Jeff Humphrey’s query in telling fashion….

“The United States in the twenty-first century is home to perhaps the most diverse and varied Christian population on earth, with Christians of European, African, Asian, and Latin American birth or descent. This great racial and ethnic diversity poses both challenges and opportunities for America’s Christians. For Christians, overcoming racism and changing the structures of injustice that support racial exclusion is central to the reconciling work of the church. With the new immigration, beginning in 1965, the racial and ethnic diversity of American Christians has become greater than ever, recasting and making more complex the already difficult issues of race and ethnicity…

Justice for African Americans also remains on the agenda of Christian churches. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s involved the work, the leadership, and the commitment of many Christians, most prominently the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Inspired by the deepest values of Christianity, they sharply criticized those institutional structures and practices which had supported a racially segregated society and, in many cases, a racially segregated church….

While many gains have been made, race is still a major issue for the churches. Some local churches are still, in effect, racially segregated along black and white lines. Others, however, have intentionally cultivated racially inclusive congregations and have expressed a commitment to racial justice in their life of worship and service. …

What is this social identity issue caused from?…media? How can we combat it? Would love to hear your stories or personal experiences on this issue? What’s your solution? Feedback, suggestions, comments, etc.. are all welcomed!

*note: this is one of the never-ending blog topics, so keep coming back for new articles or links. Feel free to share any below that’s related that might help “seekers”

I decided to write to this blog on this particular topic after many talks with transvestites. I was always curious how one became one and found some similar backgrounds. I met an individual that told me he lived with a single mom. Her mother wished she had a daughter and never got one, so she would dressed him as a girl all the time. This repeated occurrence just gave him that identity desire to be a girl. There are other stories, but will tell them later as time comes, so stay tune…

Transformed

Transsexual Returns to Original Gender After Relationship With Christ By Jeff Schapiro, Christian Post Reporter
January 11, 2012|4:43 pm“….When he was only about five years old, Heyer’s grandmother began to dress him as if he were a girl and even made a dress just for him. The result was a very confused little boy. “I look at it today as being pretty abusive. While it seemed very benign at the time, and maybe even playful, I can see today…that it was really abusive to my psyche,” he told The Christian Post on Wednesday….

…Heyer’s uncle viewed the situation with his grandmother as a joke, and sexually molested him when he was still young.

..By his early teenage years, the fantasy had only grown. He adopted the female name Andrea West, and began cross dressing. At age 15, he also began learning about Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) and, although he struggled against his desire to be female, he says those feelings were like a radio playing in his head that he just couldn’t turn off….

“While I didn’t want to be going down this pathway I seemed to be on this track that I couldn’t interrupt, stop or change,” he recalled. “But I wasn’t homosexual. I was having dates with girls, I never felt any desire to have relationships with men, so from the standpoint of my sexuality I was always heterosexual.”

“That I think, too, is one of the…misleading factors. Most people consider transgenders to be homosexual and, from my experience…98 to 99 percent of the people who contact me are not homosexual…It’s really a gender identity issue, not a sexual preference issue.”…

..He and his wife split after 17 years of marriage, and he lost his job when he began making the physical transformation into becoming a woman. He got breast implants, began taking hormones, had electrolysis to reduce the hair on his face, and he had his genitals removed.
….

“You’re not born transgender, something happens in your childhood that causes you to not want to be who you are…And today the only thing that is…socially acceptable is calling yourself a transgender,” he said.

Not all his church experiences were bad, however. He found a church that welcomed him in, even with the knowledge of what his struggle was. The pastor of that church told him, “Our job is to love you and it’s God’s job to transform you.”

“The church, what it did for me was it allowed me to really get to the point where I asked the Lord for forgiveness. I began to pray for forgiveness. And I realized that the critical point is understanding that you can accept Jesus Christ, but there’s a point where that doesn’t become real…until you’re walking with Christ,” he said….

God loves everyone and sees every sin equal. God does not hate people. He loves us! What you see the bad stuff in the media is not God. God loves us all and yes! He disapproves of having relationships between two mans and between two woman. But it does not mean he does not love you or understands your difficulties! He offers his salvation to all and will guide you!

This movie is for educational purposes and testimony, I have not made this video. All credit goes to God for helping us and letting us give testimonies of his Glory, love and power.”

A transformed transsexual from the-new-way.org“…“My appearance became increasingly feminine as the months passed. Silicone injections added to my feminine good looks. But I was miserable inside.”

My story begins in a small Louisiana town on August 15, 1936, when I was born. My father was a river boat pilot and drank a lot. I was always afraid of him, as he would come home late at night, yelling and breaking things. I began to build a fantasy world all my own. I would dream about all the beautiful women in the movies Mother took me to see on weekends. I wanted to be a girl, but I was a boy.

Mother always worked. I used to go to her room when she was away and put on her dresses, earrings, lipstick and perfume. One day she came home early and caught me. “Don’t ever let me catch you doing this again!” she yelled. She whipped me, screaming, “You’re a boy, you’re a boy!” She ripped the earrings off and threw them on the dressing table. I ran from the house crying.

I was afraid to play with boys. They called me “sissy” and “Momma’s boy”. School was the worst time of all. The other boys didn’t want me around and called me ugly names. There were a few girls I could play with, but more and more, I played by myself, with my movie idols…

.. I decided that a sex-change operation was the answer to my feelings of dissatisfaction and phoned a plastic surgeon in New York. We set an appointment for the first stage of surgery —castration. I’ll never forget the antiseptic smell of the operating room. The surgery was done with local anesthetic, but even the drugs injected with 6-inch needles couldn’t kill the dreadful pain of the operation. It was the most dreadful experience of my life…

“Perry, I’m saved. I’ve got Jesus in my heart. I feel wonderful!” He witnessed to me every chance he got for the next year. Finally I agreed to go to church with him. Everything was strange to me, but I felt something I had never experienced in my life. These people really loved each other. I could feel it. .

I’m curious why “you” came to this particular blog. Please feel free to personally contact me or share below. Do you struggle with any sexual-gender identity? What’s your story? Can you related to any of the stories above?

I got picked on, beat-up, identity issues, etc… Some of the challenges many of us faced growing-up. How did you deal with it? Fortunately, I just got picked on, spat-on, teased because I looked “different” (e.g. thus suffered with my identity), but not “beat-up”. I was very much small in height compared with my peers at my school (Battle Creek) , so I never even tried to “fight-back” with the peers that picked on me. Why did I get picked on? Not sure most of the time, but some were because I was a very studious “nerdy” looking Asian geek. They knew I did my homework, so one of them asked me to do his homework. I said “no” because I didn’t want to be used, so he pushed me against the lockers. Fortunately, one of my tall friends stuck-up for me, but he ended up getting pushed too. During this time, one of the teachers that happened to witness this intervened. This doesn’t always happen to many! Maybe God was watching me already..

Chet McDoniel Tells a Story About a Bully Who Wanted to Fight

What about peer pressure? Ever got pressured to smoke or do drugs? I was fortunate to be strong-willed enough to say “no” to drugs or smoking. I guess I remember there was a speaker that came to our classroom with a hole in his throat, which freaked-scared me growing-up. Thus, I never ever smoked and will never even try it in the future!

.Anyways, some friends and I were talking about these “traumatic years” during this past weekend Men’s Retreat as the “worst years”. How about for you? Worst or Glory years? How can we (e.g. adults, parents, mentors, etc..) help those in junior high-middle school learn from our experience to get through these years?